Not a Victim
by Forge2
Summary: After Chippewa Amanda Buckman was not afraid of anything. She was a confident gogetter. Not at all a victim. Then she came to Wolfram and Hart…


Not a Victim

Amanda Buckman straightened her stylish suit. First impressions were everything. She flicked an erring lock of hair out of her eyes. Self-confidence was key. Believe in yourself and they will believe in you. Project an aura of strength. She was in charge of her life. She walked calmly into the elevator, with a calculated sway of her hips. Cool, calm, and collected. That was her. Certain of her superiority, because after all she was superior. The elevator began to rise. This meeting was very important. Only those who made the right connections could get far in life. And Amanda Buckman would go far. She was in the driving seat of her life, she was not a victim…really. She told herself that often enough. Her own person motto, a mantra repeated over and over again.

No one made her weak, nothing scared her…not any more. Unlike most people she had faced her worst nightmare and survived. Sometimes, in the dead of night, she would find herself back on that stage, tied to a post while that…that…that _girl _had lit the match. Amanda shivered at the memory, but mostly at the elevator music. After Camp Chippewa there was nothing on this world or any other that could possibly frighten her, nothing that could surprise her. She had emerged from the fire with more than singed hair, a broken nails. She had risen from the ashes with a heart of stone. Ice Queen they had called her in High School, but she didn't care. They were just the little people, their opinions would never matter, but hers would. _I'll be the victim…All your life…_Hah! Amanda glared at the weasel of a man who had got on the elevator with her. He gulped. She smirked. That's right. I am woman hear me roar!

The elevator doors slid open with a ping. She strode confidently to the receptionist's desk and cleared her throat. There was a thump, followed by a curse. The secretary was under the desk. Amanda rolled her eyes. This, she glanced down to check…ah yes. This Harmony Kendall was obviously an idiot. And what kind of name was that any way? Finally the secretary emerged holding a battered paperweight…wait was that actually a unicorn? Not that Amanda had any problems with unicorns. In fact there was a time when she'd had something of a collection herself, but it didn't fit her image, not any more. Amanda glared. Who did this Harmony think she was? Sure they looked exactly the same but…wait a minute. Amanda did a double take. Harmony looked exactly like her, except in pink. Oh God…the humiliation. She looked like one of the…little people. No! One of the little people looked like her. Harmony started to open her mouth, obviously to comment on their resemblance. Well we can't have that.

"Amanda Buckman, I have an appointment," she said firmly. Harmony snapped her mouth shut.

"Yes of course." She picked up the phone. "Your Two O'clock is here," she said. "Yes that's right." Amanda studied her nails. "Go right in," Harmony said.

Amanda nodded curtly, and headed for the office. One foot in front of the other. 'I am not a victim,' she told herself. _'I am not a victim.'_ She took a deep breath and allowed her stomach to calm. Then she pushed the doors open and strode in proudly. The office was tastefully decorated, if macabre. There was guillotine in the corner, which she supposed made a good conversation piece. The new CEO was seated imperiously behind the desk, and didn't rise to greet her. Undeterred she held out her hand. "Amanda Buckman," she said introducing herself. Any further words died in her throat, as she met the CEO's eyes. She knew those eyes. Dressed sharply in an elegant black dress with her hair bound back in a tight braid, the CEO rose in a single fluid gesture and took the offered hand in a firm, cold grip. Amanda shivered. _Not a victim! Not a victim! Not a…_

"Hello Amanda," Wednesday Addams, newly instated CEO of Wolfram & Hart, said. Then she smiled, that familiar smile, a smile to make blood run cold.

_N-N-Not…a-a-a…_Amanda Buckman screamed, and screamed, and screamed. And the Senior Partners knew they had made the right choice.

Fin


End file.
